TV Watch Survivor
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And the blindsides just keep coming.
For the second week in row the women of Survivor: One World took out a male ally who believed he was safe. Working model Jay Byars was the unsuspecting sacrifice this week after the intended target, Troy, revealed he was going to play a hidden immunity idol. The last-minute news sent the entire tribe scrambling, and Byars, 25, was sent to the jury.
Now back home in Gaffney, S.C., Byars tells PEOPLE why he dropped out of his final immunity challenge, why he trusted the women, and the one thing he would have done differently that could have changed the game.
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"There's a word in the English language called naïve. And some people are that. And obviously, those people are playing this game."
– Jonny Fairplay, Survivor: Pearl Islands
Oh Jay, you beautiful idiot. How could you?
For the past few weeks on Survivor, it seemed like Jay was this season's male voice of reason. He started the game crowing with the Roosters, then jumped to the Misfits when Queen Colton took power. After the swap, he sidled over to the Salanis. And last week, as the women organized Michael's ouster, he was the only one to stand athwart the plan, yelling "Stop!"
But in just a few short moments, he undoes a season's worth of careful gameplay. Just as Troyzan is hot on the heels of lady Machiavel Kim, Jay runs and tattles. Troyzan's going to play his idol! Watch out!
Permalink | Filed Under: Celebrity Blog, Survivor, Stephen Fishbach
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On Survivor, when everyone feels safe, a blindside cannot be too far away.
All 11 remaining contestants told host Jeff Probst Wednesday they felt safe and secure in their alliances, but just moments later Michael Jefferson found himself sent to the jury when the women crossed enemy lines and banded together.
Jefferson, 30, is now back home in Seattle, where he works as a banker, and spoke to PEOPLE Thursday about how he was fooled into thinking he was safe and whether the men have a shot at making it to the end.
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"Girl Power – I don't like that. They will gang up on us, don't believe they won't."
– Russell Hantz, Survivor: Samoa
In the battle of the sexes, the women just won a decisive victory.
Wednesday on Survivor, Kim led Troyzan around by the nose, and convinced him to vote out Michael – putting the women at a 6-4 advantage.
After starting the season in complete disarray, the women have schooled the boys in old-fashioned Girl Power. In the words of the Spice Girls – "zigazig-ahhhh!"
Permalink | Filed Under: Celebrity Blog, Survivor, Stephen Fishbach
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The merge came early this season on Survivor: One World, and while some contestants saw the new tribe as saving grace, Jonas Otsuji, 37, was sent home by an almost unanimous vote, and became the first member of the jury.
Now back at home in Lehi, Utah, the sushi chef tells PEOPLE about his rocky "marriage" to Tarzan, why Leif was his only vote, and all about the delicious meals he made on the island that had even the show's producers wanting to get a bite.
Credit: Monty Brinton/CBS (2)
"You just need to keep me, and I'll provide you with all the fish you need."
– Richard Hatch, Survivor: Borneo
Does anybody else miss Colton?
Oh, I'm not talking about missing his scenery chewing, his thiny-veiled racism, or his mean girl bullying antics. I don't miss Colton the TV Villain one bit.
But I do miss Colton the strategist. I miss the guy who could coddle the high-strung, eccentric, borderline schizophrenic personalities that make up a Survivor cast and somehow forge a precious consensus, like Sauron forged the One Ring in the fires of Mount Doom. I miss the young kid from rural Alabama who could keep the bristly old surgeon in line. Just look what happens the day after he's gone. Tarzan and Jonas are at each other's throats. Alicia has fully defected back to the women. Now who's going to challenge the Salani Three of Kim, Chelsea and Sabrina?
Permalink | Filed Under: Celebrity Blog, Survivor, Stephen Fishbach
Credit: Monty Brinton/CBS
He was deemed a "super villain" on Survivor: One World, but Colton Cumbie prefers the term "evil queen."
Cumbie, 21, seemed poised to make it to the final three this season until a bacterial infection – originally believed to be appendicitis – forced him out of the game.
Back home in Monroeville, Ala., Cumbie tells PEOPLE about receiving death threats, how he planned to betray a close ally and the illness that ended his Survivor dream.
Credit: Monty Brinton/CBS (2)
"This game is cool, but it's not THAT cool. I don't want to die, I'd rather walk home."
– Joe Dowdle, Survivor: Tocantins
Being medically evacuated has to be the worst way to leave Survivor. All your great plans, all the myriad possibilities that the game presents – torn away from you before you can see them to completion. At least if you get blindsided, you were properly beat. Medical evacuation leaves you wondering what if.
For a lot of people watching, that's what made Colton's appendicitis so satisfying. Colton's cruelty to Christina and to Bill went beyond the bounds of the game. Colton didn't just call Christina a cockroach or tell her to jump in the fire. Somehow, he made her believe it – so that halfway through the episode, she was calling herself a cockroach. That's the most invidious fallout from bullying. The victim actually starts to lose her self-esteem.
Permalink | Filed Under: Celebrity Blog, Health, Survivor, Stephen Fishbach
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Monica Culpepper never saw her elimination coming.
After the Survivor: One World tribes became co-ed on Wednesdays episode, her alliance of women had the numbers stacked against them until the tide seemed to shift towards eliminating the eldest member of their physically weaker tribe. But it was all a ruse devised by Survivor's new super villain, Colton.
Culpepper, 41, a physical therapist and mother of three from Tampa, Fla., spoke to PEOPLE about the betrayal that led to her blindside, her initially very close relationship to Colton, and how she was recruited by former Survivor Russell Hantz to face off against her former supposed ally.
Credit: Monty Brinton/CBS
"It's important for me to have people on my team who are gonna do what I tell them to do, and not know that I'm telling them to do it."
– Boston Rob, Survivor: Marquesas
In the classic comedy Twins, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito play the mixed-up result of a genetic experiment gone haywire. Arnold was created to be the perfect man. Danny was the "genetic trash" left over.
The new Manono tribe must know how he feels. In the most lopsided swap in Survivor history, all the smart, fit, competitive people go to Salani. Meanwhile Manono looks like a picked-over Survivor bargain bin – the confused grampa, the elitist jerk, the girl who can't solve puzzles. The whole tribe looks ready for a factory recall.
"I get on a tribe of people who suck," says Colton.
Permalink | Filed Under: Celebrity Blog, Survivor, Stephen Fishbach
